What Mercurial Malcolm Means for Markets

In The Australian Financial Review I consider what the new Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, really means for Aussie financial markets and the quality of the next generation of political leaders Turnbull will promote. I also reflect on how Turnbull will react to the two hard-hitting speeches delivered during the week by Australia's banking boss, Wayne Byres, who repeatedly highlighted how the major banks rank poorly compared to peers around the world based on their "leverage ratios". The only solution to improving leverage ratios is boosting core equity (not hybrid or bail-in debt) capital. This is why Byers believes that "continuing to steadily accumulate capital looks to be a sensible strategy for a while yet". Byres also revealed that contrary to accepted best-practice since the GFC the majors have not, in fact, reduced their reliance on short-term wholesale funding sourced from overseas. His worry is that this accentuates the mismatches between their short-term liabilities and long-term assets (and solvency risks). The answer is to issue more long-term debt. Read here for free (VIEW LINK)